Can a lighting expert advise on bypassing the internal starter ballast circuit in Ansell fittings to accommodate Philips LED tubes?
Asked by Cecil Henderson 
3 months ago
Last Updated: September 2, 2024
I’m curious if someone who knows about lighting could assist me with switching out my fluorescent tubes. My fixtures are Ansell and they have an internal “starter” ballast circuit in a module, rather than the plug-in bayonet type. I got some Philips LED tubes as replacements and it seems like they just need power at one end. Would it be okay to skip the module and connect power directly to one or both ends of the fixture?
I’m not sure about your situation, but the LED tubes I installed required me to bypass the ballast completely. I had to open up the fixture, remove the ballast, and rewire it so that the bulbs received direct 120v power.
Which country are you located in?
Hey there, my name is Finn Kirkman and I’m from the UK.
Finn Kirkman Yup, that’s exactly what I believe I need to do. Just get rid of the ballast and rewire the setup.
Pinfold ot it. Best of luck to you!
Pinfold I believe you may have the incorrect led tube for this particular use case. You need one that receives power from both ends. While it might be possible to make it work with your current fixture and this led tube, you would also have to switch out the contact for one that can accommodate both the hot and neutral wires. Unfortunately, I can’t inspect the wiring in your photos to provide a definitive answer.
All it really requires is power from one end. I believe I can just disconnect the power on one end of the fitting. Even if it remains connected, I don’t think it would cause any issues since I assume the connections on that end of the tube are not completing the circuit.
Pinfold Hey, could you take a picture of the fixture from a bit further away? I need to get a better look at the wiring.
Right now I’m away from home, but basically, the ballast module has a mains input that is connected to both ends of the fitting. My plan is to eliminate the ballast module and reconfigure the wiring so that the mains power goes to one or both ends. That’s the gist of it.